John Terry has made his decision over whether to appeal against an independent regulatory commission's verdict that he was guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand but will wait until after England's World Cup qualifier in Poland next week to announce his intention.

The Chelsea captain, who had been acquitted of a racially aggravated public order offence at Westminster magistrates court in July, was handed a four-match ban and a fine of £220,000 by the three-man panel, who described aspects of Terry's defence as "improbable, implausible and contrived" before concluding there was "no credible basis" for that defence.

The 31-year-old has until Thursday to appeal and will comply with that deadline, but is understood to have opted to wait until Wednesday at least, when England will have played their two World Cup qualifying fixtures, before making his announcement out of respect for Roy Hodgson. The England manager had selected the centre-half for Euro 2012 and only reluctantly accepted his retirement from international football, which was confirmed just before the start of the four-day commission, with the player claiming the FA had made his position "untenable".

Terry is well aware of the damage that has been inflicted upon Chelsea's image by the case but is adamant he has been wronged by the independent panel's judgment. The club will stand by their experienced club secretary, Dave Barnard, whose evidence had left the panel with "very real concerns".